


offshore

by bgmblues



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, M/M, POV Second Person, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 06:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19245784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgmblues/pseuds/bgmblues
Summary: You'd spent years convinced you were in love with Annie, but maybe that wasn't even true in the first place.





	offshore

**Author's Note:**

> coming of age fic where bert was Absolutely Convinced he's in love with annie and keeps trying to impress her and then realizes he's head over heels for reiner. might write more of this au but this is all i got rn

Everyone else has gone back to the small cabin owned by Historia's weird family with the exception of you two and Marcel. He's mindlessly floating on his back in the lake as you and Reiner sit on the pier with your feet in the water.

"I can't believe we're done with high school," he says, voice quiet and tired. You'd spent all afternoon swimming and messing around; one last get together before school started again for those a year below you.

"Yeah," you mumble back. "It's weird." Reiner was almost 19 now and you were starting to actually think about what colleges to apply to. There was no rush, though, since you'd already decided on taking a gap year. 

Reiner wasn't going to college. Actually, you don't know his plans at all; was he even going to stay here? Or would he move away?

He glances at you, but you can't pick up the expression. The orange hues of the late summer sunset reflect off the water and catch in his pale hair and face. It almost makes him look like he's glowing. Something about it that makes your stomach twist, so you try to push away that feeling.

"Are you going to keep living with your mom?" You ask. Reiner looks away, as if hiding his expression. A pit rises in your throat.

"Probably not," he admits with a sigh. "I wanna get out of here. I'll move to the city or something." A tired laugh. "I just...I dunno. I can't stay here."

"I'll go with you," you breathe. The words are out of your mouth before you even have the chance to think about them. But you already know you wouldn't need to think about it anyway.

"What if I move out of state? What would you do about college?" Reiner quickly objects, almost a little snappy. His face is kind of red. 

"Then I would have to follow you." You force yourself to swallow. Your eyes burn; are you crying, or is it just the sun? You wipe your face anyway. 

His face is closer to yours now. You're not sure when you started leaning in.

"Why?" The way he says it makes your heart ache. It's like he can't understand why he's deserving of your attention, as if he hasn't literally always been the most important person to you. Your breath catches.

You'd spent years convinced you were in love with Annie. When had those feelings morphed for drastically? Or, were they even true in the first place? 

Maybe you were in love with Reiner this whole time. If not all along, at least for what might be years at this point. You were such a fool for not realizing it earlier.

You lean in the rest of the way. You kiss him. 

His lips taste like the lake water and his hand is still all wrinkly when it comes up to cup the side of your face. You're both tilting your heads probably a little too much to avoid your noses bumping together. It's probably no award winning movie kiss, but it makes your cheeks burn and your heart pound. 

Reiner leans back, hand still on your cheek, to gape. You imagine you look just as starstruck as he does. 

"Oh," a third voice says. 

You and Reiner practically jump away from each other, yourself landing in the water. Your face submerges and water gets up your nose. When your head is above water again, you sputter and cough and wipe the water out of your eyes. 

Marcel stands there with his eyes wide and face turning red. He knows he just saw something intimate and personal he probably shouldn't have seen. He wades back to the pier, past you and heaving himself up onto the wood beside Reiner. It's very clear that he avoids making eye contact as he walks up the pier to grab a towel and his shoes. As much as you want to be annoyed, all you can focus on is your embarrassment. 

"I was gonna, uh...head back to the cabin," he explains. "If you guys wanna come too." 

Reiner shakes his head and Marcel shuffles his feet. He quickly turns away and flees into the woods. You're practically sure he'll throw open the cabin door and tell everyone about what he'd seen, but for now that wasn't your focus. 

You turn back to Reiner. He stares down at you from his position on the pier before offering a smile and sliding into the water again. The water isn't very cold after having the sun warm it all day, yet Reiner stands right up in your personal space. His body is almost touching yours and you don't mind at all. 

The gap closes again, wet arms wrapping around the back of your neck. His body isn't quite pushed against yours but you can feel its warmth.

“We should swim some more before we have to go back,” he mumbles, falling back into the water and pulling you down with him. Water splashes around you.

You and Reiner don’t quite separate, hands trying to hold onto each other but not quite able to in order to stay above water.

“Can I kiss you again?” He asks, breath fanning your face. You lean down to kiss him first before he can make a move. Your faces are half submerged and the taste of water hits your lips, but all you can focus on is Reiner. Finally you pull out of the water and back onto the pier, still not separating. The sun’s almost fully set now, so you force yourself up to dry off and slip on your shoes.

You hold hands on the way back to the cabin. Neither of you speak despite the fact there’s a lot you need to talk about. You suppose it can wait until after all the questions you’re about to get from everyone.

Reiner kisses your shoulder before you open the door. For once, you don’t automatically search out Annie.

**Author's Note:**

> writing Hard


End file.
